Jayson Stark with some Josh Hamilton love

by Adam J. Morris on Mar 21, 2008 1:32 PM CDT

Jayson Stark has a piece up at ESPN today, talking about guys who are turning heads in spring training this year.

And of course, Josh Hamilton gets a prominent mention, with a scout quoted as saying he's been the best player in Arizona, and could hit 50 homers if he stays clean and healthy.

Meanwhile, Edinson Volquez also makes the cut, with another scout saying that the Reds acquiring Volquez for Josh Hamilton was the best trade of the off-season...

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Comments

hmm

if this trade ends up being a really good pitcher for a really good CFer, then this is a loss for the Rangers. That's one of the most glowing reviews of a pitcher I've seen.

by ab03 on Mar 21, 2008 1:44 PM CDT reply actions

Why?

The Rangers had nothing in the OF from the MLB on down to at least Frisco if not Bakersfield until they picked up Hamilton.

If I owned a lightsaber, the blade color would be black light, so that I could use it to fight evil and to liven-up parties.

by rooster on Mar 21, 2008 1:47 PM CDT up reply actions

The Rangers have not had a legit outfield prospect since Ruben Mateo, and there aren't any in the pipeline either. Something had to be done to fill in what was the biggest organizational hole in recent years. Say what you will about the pitching, but the rotation has been far more stable and of higher quailty than CF has ever been in RBIA.

Add in the fact that Eddy V had gotten several shots in Texas, the trade was a must do. It isn't a case of giving up on a guy, but rather moving on before being faced with a decision whether to "give up" (i.e., Botts and Cruz this year). Frankly, Volquez was at the end of his prospect rope. Another poor season in Texas, and his trade value would disappear. As it was, his value was about as high as it had ever been, and JD got a player who, while high risk, has a realistic shot of being a star at the team's historically worst position.

by JBImaknee on Mar 21, 2008 3:54 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree

by EnglishRangerFan on Mar 21, 2008 4:08 PM CDT up reply actions

i have to agree.

by SteveP on Mar 21, 2008 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions

I don't agree

with that assessment with how import CF defense is at RBiA it's worth it to me to give up a possible good pitcher to get a possible good CF'er.

'cos everybody hates a tourist especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh

by Escher on Mar 21, 2008 2:04 PM CDT up reply actions

Not just his defense.

It seems very likely that he'll provide more offense than Teixeira, and he's a lot cheaper than Teixeira over the next 5 years.

If I owned a lightsaber, the blade color would be black light, so that I could use it to fight evil and to liven-up parties.

by rooster on Mar 21, 2008 2:15 PM CDT up reply actions

Do you know how good Edinson V

has to be for him to equal a guy who can hit 50+ homer?

by Agreen07 on Mar 21, 2008 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions

3rd Pitch?

I see no mention of a third pitch, the one major complaint I remember about his time with the Rangers. Bako mentions his "dirty" changeup, but that is it. Anybody know if he has been working on a third pitch? Is it the changeup?

by Excel Hearts Choi on Mar 21, 2008 1:44 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Lets review the

Volquez/Hamilton trade in.... June.

I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it. ~Rogers Hornsby

by RangerMad on Mar 21, 2008 2:07 PM CDT reply actions

yeah,

but then everyone will say they're tired of hearing about the trade.

by SteveP on Mar 21, 2008 2:18 PM CDT up reply actions

+ 1

I hereby deem you Benny Brou Ha Ha<---Wash thinks you can hit lefties....in 2 months time you will be a full fledged Brouhaha..trust me on that one.

by LAMuscleFag on Mar 21, 2008 5:56 PM CDT up reply actions

OT: Western Kentucky

repping the Sun Belt baby!

by sprite on Mar 21, 2008 2:09 PM CDT reply actions

Delete please. I see there is a NCAA thread. Sorry.

by sprite on Mar 21, 2008 2:41 PM CDT up reply actions

I see it

as a pitcher with the potential to be really good vs. a CF that has the potential to be a legend. Hamilton has transcendent talent.

If the roles were reversed, would anybody really want to trade Hamilton for Volquez?

lepricon

by jparks77 on Mar 21, 2008 2:11 PM CDT reply actions

well

i agree with that assessment personally. I just thought the scouts reviews were much more glowing than that. I mean, the scout that said that he thought it was a good trade for the Reds probably realized what Hamilton was doing in ST. Of course, that scout probably assumed that Hamilton would have injury problems

by ab03 on Mar 21, 2008 2:20 PM CDT up reply actions

The other thing

is that that "scout" may very well work for the Reds organization. So it's pretty much his job to hype the Reds player vs the other guy.

'cos everybody hates a tourist especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh

by Escher on Mar 21, 2008 2:25 PM CDT up reply actions

Reds perspective

The other facet of the discussion is that the Reds didn't really need Hamilton. They have a pretty full outfield (Dunn, Griffey, Freel), with talent rising up in the minors as well (Bruce). They dealt from a position of strength and Hamilton was promising but is injury-prone. Not to mention that the Reds got Hamilton for nothing last year. They then turned him into Edinson Volquez. They are winners in the Josh Hamilton story if Volquez is halfway decent, regardless of how great Hamilton becomes.

Put another way, if the Rangers were to trade Teagarden for one of the Rays' young pitchers, it wouldn't take much performance from our new guy to not be that upset if Tea did well in TB. Because Texas is set at catcher. Cincy is set in the OF. The only part of the equation they care about is how good Eddie becomes.

by JBImaknee on Mar 21, 2008 4:05 PM CDT up reply actions

Not after this year

Dunn is walking after this year and Griffey will be like 50 so I don't know where you get they are in a position of strength. I think the clubhouse environment had waaaaaay more to do with this than we will ever know.

by bigsteve on Mar 21, 2008 4:37 PM CDT up reply actions

Baseball Tonight

the guys on BB2N were making "bold" home run predictions yesterday - i think it was Tim Kurkjian that predicted Josh Hamilton would hit 40. He had quite a bit of praise for his talent, but obviously said this is is he stays healthy.

As for the other guys, Kruk predicted Zimmerman would get 50 and Ravech said Braun would do the same.

by disposablehero on Mar 21, 2008 2:30 PM CDT reply actions

Zimmerman

is not going to hit 50 homers. I doubt he hits 25.

lepricon

by jparks77 on Mar 21, 2008 2:35 PM CDT up reply actions

His reasoning....

was that the Nats' new park is much more hitter friendly than pitcher's park RFK. i think you're right, and he won't come near 50, but it wouldn't surprise me to see him hit 30-35 or so.

by disposablehero on Mar 21, 2008 3:55 PM CDT up reply actions

This is...

the same crap they make the ESPN analysts do every year: "bold predictions." They're total crap. The analysts are bad enough just making their usual observations and predictions, but this is an excuse for Kruk to predict Zimmerman to have 50 HR or the Blue Jays to win the AL East or whatever. It's completely for shock value.

by TexasTiger on Mar 21, 2008 4:27 PM CDT up reply actions

Kruk

Remember when he predicted that Randy Johnson would win 30 games with the Yanks?
He's a joke.

lepricon

by jparks77 on Mar 21, 2008 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions

It's ESPN

I remember a story where one of the guys on BBTN was required to make a "bold prediction." Off camera his wasn't very bold and they told him that, so he basically made an incredibly dumb prediction to appease the producer. I think it was Kruk, too.

Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

by WyoRanger on Mar 21, 2008 7:01 PM CDT up reply actions